Cast with you left and keep the rod in your left so you can use your dominant hand to feel the bite and work the bait. The exception might be when you are fishing a fast retrieve. I’m right handed and used left hand reels on my slow retrieve rods so I can use my dominant hand to fish. I use right hand reels on my cranking rods and switch hands after I cast because I can crank better with my dominant hand and all I have to do with my left hand is hold the rod.

Share on other sites

Right vs. left handed is about which hand will do the reeling. Switching hands is only necessary if you want to cast and reel with the same hand. That's the traditional way to use a baitcaster, and most people do it that way. So most advice you hear will be based on an assumption that you're doing it the traditional way too.

But it's not a "rule". You can cast and reel with different hands. This avoids the switch, although one is not "better" than the other, aside from preference.

I'm right handed and use left handed reels. Cast right, reel left, no switching.

2 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

I’m a lefty too. Everyone is born right handed, only the best overcome it! My left handed grandpa told me that.

All my reels are right handed and Ed and I cast with my left. Makes the most sense to me and feels completely natural.

Denny Brauer is a lefty and does this too. Chris Zaldain and David Walker are righties and do it the same way I do.

As the title states im a lefty. I am looking at baitcasting reels and wonder if I will still need to switch hands considering I cast with my left hand. Thanks for any insight.

Hi Wizzlebiz,

I am also a lefty that uses a righty reel and... I do not change hands when casting. I really like not having to change hands. It allows me to start my retrieve the instant the lure hit the water. Think casting into a foot or slightly less of water with three inches of algae growing up from the bottom and being able to retrieve my spinner bait without getting fouled by a wad of algae.

Cast with you left and keep the rod in your left so you can use your dominant hand to feel the bite and work the bait. The exception might be when you are fishing a fast retrieve. I’m right handed and used left hand reels on my slow retrieve rods so I can use my dominant hand to fish. I use right hand reels on my cranking rods and switch hands after I cast because I can crank better with my dominant hand and all I have to do with my left hand is hold the rod.

What is really interesting about this is my very 1st spinning rod hand a handle I could swap from left to right.

I do not feel right reeling in with my left hand. There are very few things in life this is the case for with me but there are a couple.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

What is really interesting about this is my very 1st spinning rod hand a handle I could swap from left to right.

I do not feel right reeling in with my left hand. There are very few things in life this is the case for with me but there are a couple.

Reeling with my right hand feel natural to me.

As I predicted. This IMHO is the “natural” inclination but it is not set in stone.

As to the cast with the right and reel with the right being traditional? Maybe, maybe not. It just leads me to believe that the person who invented the baitcaster was left-hand dominant, lol, and righties had to reprogram and adapt until it dawned on reel makers to make left-handed versions, lol^2.

As the title states im a lefty. I am looking at baitcasting reels and wonder if I will still need to switch hands considering I cast with my left hand. Thanks for any insight.

Don't overthink this. You hold and cast your rods using your left hand so a reel with handle on the right side allows you to operate the reel using your right hand, holding the rod with your left hand.

Share on other sites

You guys are giving me hope... just picked up my first left handed baitcaster today. I normally cast with my right, switch hands, and reel with my right. Just playing around with it at work for the last few hours, I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly. The reel will be mainly for pitching and some frog use, so it makes sense.

Does anyone know why bait casting reels were made with the handle on the right side?

If goes back to a time period when the reel handle didn't disengage from the reel spool.

Bait casting rods were also short handle pistol grips that allowed the caster to hold the rod in the dominate right hand with the reel handles upright, thumb on the spool hand positioned with the thumb towards your right ear allowing the wrist to do all the majority of the casting motion. The reel handle would spin easier with the spool on it's end opposite the handle.

If a left handed angler cast a right handed reel the handles ended up on the bottom of the reel and could hit your fingers when spinning.

Since around 1960 bait casting reels have spools disengaged from the handles allowing the spool to spin freely. Most bait casting rods today have longer trigger grip handles allowing the angler to cast using both hands with less wrist action.

You should learn to cast using your wrist like the old knuckle buster reels with less arm movement.

Some interesting takes on this subject! Tom (WRB) always comes up with some bit of info that is both informative and explains how the tools of fishing have evolved!

I am a righty and my bait casters are right retrieve, so I cast right and switch hands. With spinning I cast right and retrieve with my left, no switch.

It makes sense that I should use a lefty bait caster. Years ago I bought a lefty and tried it out. It was really uncomfortable, so I sold it. The problem was not in the retrieve, but in the hand I worked the bait with, my right and dominate hand!

Why would I be able to hold and work a spinning outfit with my right hand but have trouble with bait outfit?